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Former DAWSON’S CREEK star JAMES VAN DER BEEK is taking his passion for baseball to the big screen after penning a screenplay for a new sports film.
The actor’s latest project is a tribute to his father, who played professional baseball in America before he was born.
Van Der Beek tells website moviehole.net, "I love baseball. My dad played professionally before I was born. It’s about a guy who realises his dreams of playing in the major leagues, and at the same time, he falls in love.
"It’s about trying to reconcile the two. It’s the first thing I’ve written, and actually handed in, and gotten comments on. I’m just ironing out some kinks right now."

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Born-again Christian STEPHEN BALDWIN is thrilled his teenage daughter is taking religion so seriously - she has pledged to remain a virgin until she weds.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS star insists turning his family onto Christian values is the best thing he could have done, because his daughters have never been happier.
He says, "My daughters are on fire little baby Christians. They’re having a blast. My 13-year-old, ALIA, is a very beautiful young lady who has an amazing perception of life.
"She’s hopefully gonna save herself until she gets married. Don’t think for a minute that I don’t understand culturally and sociologically how freaky that statement potentially is, but there is a movement of people that are starting to come into this perspective.
"This is this great revival of this perception that’s coming within the youth culture. I think it’s exciting."

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Actor JASON STATHAM’s co-stars were so keen to make the British action man look good in scenes for new movie CRANK, one ended up with concussion after almost putting his head through a helicopter window.
The SNATCH star plays an adrenalin-chasing gangster in the high-energy new movie and despite taking on a number of stunts himself, he was one of the only people involved in chase and fight scenes left uninjured.
He says, "JOSE PABLO CANTILLO, who plays RICKY VERONA (in the film), sustained a concussion to the head when we were flying in the helicopter because you get a bit carried away and you get a bit pumped.
"It’s a very enclosed tight space that you’re fighting within. On a reaction to one of my punches he oversold it and hit his head only to make me look good.
"He went flailing back and smashed his head on the top of the helicopter.
They whisked him away but we’d already shot the scene. He’s such an intense man - a very competent mix martial artist himself, and a great actor at that.
"As for me, I was pretty much OK. I got through."

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The decision to free British former world champion boxer NASEEM HAMED from prison early has been met with disgust by the man who was left with every bone in his body broken, following a high speed crash.
Decorator ANTHONY BURGIN was driving with his wife in England earlier this year (06) when Hamed’s £320,000 ($177,700) sports car hit him head on at 90 miles per hour (144 kilometres per hour) during a risky overtaking manoeuvre.
The Sheffield-born fighter later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
But Hamed will be released on parole next week (begs04SEP06), just 16 weeks into his jail term.
Burgin, 38, who also suffered impaired eyesight and swelling to his brain, says, "I am very upset. I was obviously expecting Mr Hamed to serve a lot more of his sentence.
"What happened to my wife and I was deeply distressing and nearly destroyed our lives. I am shocked that Mr Hamed has been released after less than four months." Hamed will wear an electronic tag and be subject to a curfew when he is returned into the community.

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British actor RUPERT EVERETT has launched a bitter attack against Hollywood bosses for denying him romantic roles because he is gay.
The MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING star, 47, compares himself to leading man HUGH GRANT, and believes the NOTTING HILL star has enjoyed more success than him simply because he is heterosexual.
Everett says, "Without doubt gays are discriminated against in show business.
The straight one gets to walk down a red carpet with a beautiful girl and everything works out and the gay one has to back-pedal and do independent movies. Yet everything Hugh Grant does, I could be in." The star insists he could never feign a heterosexual relationships in a bid to get ahead: "To be a movie star you have got to have a good-looking girlfriend and for Hugh, ELIZABETH HURLEY helped. It is a trophy job. You need a lot of energy to have a trophy girlfriend. I take my hat off to anyone who has one."

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Sexy thriller EYES WIDE SHUT ended TOM CRUISE and NICOLE KIDMAN’s marriage because the couple’s characters were too close for comfort, according to a new Kidman biography.
In his new study, NICOLE KIDMAN, film historian DAVID THOMSON claims the former couple held a mirror up to their relationship issues when they signed up for the 1999 STANLEY KUBRICK film.
Thomson says, "I think she learned from him just what was required in taking charge of yourself. That’s what broke them up.
"She realised she could be as big as him if she became as strong and self-centred. He wanted a beautiful, bright, obedient consort. She wanted a teacher. It worked. Then it stopped.
"I think Eyes Wide Shut was the process that brought it to an end because the characters they played were so close to themselves."

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Actor PATRICK SWAYZE was stunned when SHARON OSBOURNE’s dog bit him when he appeared as a guest on her British chat show yesterday (01SEP06).
The DIRTY DANCING star was wary of Pomeranian pooch Minnie as soon as he sat down on Osbourne’s sofa, and his fears were quickly realised.
He said upon his arrival, "Hello Minnie, you’re looking as though you might bite my head off," to which Osbourne replied, "No, she’s lovely, a lovely little dog." But to Osbourne’s horror, the dog then pounced on Swayze, who yelled, "You don’t mess with Minnie!"

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Gay actor RUPERT EVERETT had an "on-off affair" with SIR BOB GELDOF’s late wife PAULA YATES over a six-year period.
The British star of MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING has no idea if the LIVE 8 organiser knows about his liaisons with Yates, who later divorced Geldof and had a relationship with INXS frontman MICHAEL HUTCHENCE.
On the subject of their meetings, Everett says, "That side of our relationship was tenuous to say the least, and our lives (eventually) went in different directions." Yates subsequently gave birth to Hutchence’s daughter, TIGER LILY, in 1996, but Hutchence died in a Sydney, Australia hotel room in 1997. Yates died of an overdose in 2000.
Everett has had a string of relationships with famous women, including French actress BEATRICE DALLE and SUSAN SARANDON, and struggles to understand why he isn’t a conventional homosexual.
He says, "I am mystified by my heterosexual affairs - but then I am mystified by most of my relationships."

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TOM CRUISE has apologised to BROOKE SHIELDS for criticising her use of anti-depressant medication when she was diagnosed with post-partum depression following the birth of her first child.
The MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE actor and Shields became embroiled in a war of words last year (05) when Scientologist Cruise accused the CHEERS actress of failing to understand psychiatry.
Following Cruise’s comments, Shields hit back calling them a "ridiculous rant" and a "disservice to mothers everywhere".
But Shields told US chat show host JAY LENO on his TONIGHT SHOW last night (01SEP06) that Cruise came to her house recently in an attempt to heal their relationship.
She said, "He came over to my house and gave me a heartfelt apology. I was so impressed with how heartfelt he was. "I did not feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it." Cruise’s lucrative contract with Paramount was reportedly cancelled last month (AUG06) because of the comments he made about Shields.
Cruise’s spokesperson ARNOLD ROBINSON says, "It is true that his friendship with Ms Shields has been mended.
"(But) he has not changed his position about anti-depressants, which as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy."

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SHARON OSBOURNE is hoping to spend more time in America in future because her recent stays in her native Britain have seen her put on 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
The wife of BLACK SABBATH frontman OZZY OSBOURNE can’t help but tuck in to helpings of fish and chips during her stints as a judge on TV talent contest THE X FACTOR.
She says, "I call it the Heathrow diet, every time you land at Heathrow you put on weight.
"It’s all that fish and chips that I keep shovelling down."

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Rapper-turned-actor ICE-T is planning a career change - he wants to try his hand at the ultra-violent art of Ultimate Fighting.
The 48-year-old star, famed for his martial arts skills, was recently spotted watching the extreme sport in Las Vegas.
And he says, "I’d like to try it but I’d have to train. I’ve taken martial arts all my life and I box - I’m really into jujitsu so my moves would be submissions."

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British singer/songwriter JAMES BLUNT is amazed by how forward American girls are when it comes to discussing his love life.
The hitmaker was in New York City on Thursday night to pick up the MTV award for Best Male Video for his hit YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL, and he hopes having girlfriend PETRA NEMCOVA on his arm will put end to the crude questioning.
The star moans, "Women in America keep asking me if I got laid last night and who I was with. What can you say? "I don’t understand their obsession with it. I can’t see why they’re interested in who I sleep with."

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BRITNEY SPEARS’ husband KEVIN FEDERLINE recently spent eight agonising hours having a Polynesian tribal belt tattooed on his back.
The painful tattoo depicts the creation of life and features a foetus in the middle.
Federline says, "It’s got the suns and the ocean and then the stars on my shoulders.
"It follows my wife-beater (vest) line. You can’t see it when I’m wearing a wife-beater… It was pretty f**king painful."

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Reggaeton superstar DADDY YANKEE has set up a ‘fraud watch’ initiative on his official website in a bid to stop callous people from duping his fans.
The hip-hop hero’s devotees have been caught up in a number of ticket scams recently, including one in South Carolina last month (AUG06) when a woman claiming to be Daddy Yankee’s tour manager took hundreds of dollars from fans who turned up for a concert that never was.
Three hours after the rapper was scheduled to appear onstage, fans grew restless and challenged the woman, who then drove off in a limousine - with all the money. The concert, which was announced on a local radio station, was a scam.
Now, Daddy Yankee, real name RAYMOND AYALA, has called in officials to investigate that scam and he’s getting tough on future crooks buy offering fans an email address where they can report suspected fraud.
His publicist says, "Every day there are new scams."

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Guitar heroes KASABIAN insist THE ROLLING STONES are "granddads" and should be "drinking tea" instead of performing.
The gritty British rockers, who supported the legendary rockers during the European leg of their A Bigger Bang world tour, met SIR MICK JAGGER and KEITH RICHARDS backstage And they were less than impressed by what they saw.
Frontman TOM MEIGHAN says, "All I remember is Mick coming up and saying, ‘I heard you had a storm, you f**ker.’ And Keith said hello.
"But it was weird because they are granddads. They should be drinking cups of tea in their armchairs."

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British rockers KASABIAN have launched a blistering tirade against JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, branding the heart-throb a "midget" and a "puppet".
The astonishing attack comes as the EMPIRE four-piece are riding high in the UK charts with their number one album, and Timberlake is about to top the singles charts with his comeback track SEXYBACK.
Lead singer Tom Meighan says, "He’s a midget with whiskers who is just trying to be black. He’s a puppet in a million-dollar suit who’s had his strings cut off.
"It’s just money music. Absolute rubbish. You can smell the money coming off it. He’s a k**bhead." Bassist Chris Edwards adds, "Sexyback? More like hairy back. It’s the worst title of any record I’ve ever heard!"

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Soul singer RONALD ISLEY was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday (01SEP06) for tax evasion.
The ISLEY BROTHERS legend, who was also ordered to pay $3.1 million (£1.7 million) to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), engaged in a "pervasive, long-term, pathological" evasion of federal taxes, according to Los Angeles US District Court Judge DEAN PREGERSON.
The 65-year-old was found guilty of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return last October (05), and returned to court to discover his fate yesterday. During last year’s three-week trial, prosecutors contended Isley failed to make any payments to the IRS between 1976 and 1996.
Isley’s lawyer told the court yesterday that his client was selling off his assets in an attempt to pay his tax bill, and also attempted to secure probation for his client because of his poor health, following a stroke and a battle with kidney cancer.
But Judge Pregerson refused to take Isley’s medical conditions into account.

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"Go ahead and reserve one… The only thing is you’ll have to stay the same size for the next 15 years." JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE answers comedienne ELLEN DeGENERES’ loaded question as to whether she needs to buy an outfit for the pop star’s wedding.

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